Three people were killed and one seriously injured Saturday after a speeding bus crashed into two motorbikes on a highway in the south central province of Binh Thuan.

Local police said the passenger bus, driven by Luong Hung Dung, 31, was traveling from Phan Thiet City in Binh Thuan Province to Quang Ngai Province on National Highway 1A when it crashed into two motorbikes on the highway section running through Bac Binh District at around 11:30 a.m.

Two couples on the motorbikes, which were traveling in the opposite direction to the bus, were thrown into a roadside paddy field.

Cao Tien Luu, 49, and his 39-year-old wife Mai Thi My died on the spot.

Tran Minh Quang, 52, and his 50-year-old wife Vo Thi Mai were seriously injured. Quang died on the way to hospital.

Bus driver Dung fled the scene.

According to police, the bus was speeding at the time of the accident. Dung apparently encroached on the wrong side of the lane in order to get ahead of another bus traveling in front, they said.